Indoor athletic facility officially named for Billy, Porter Payne

Vince Dooley and Billy Payne remember rainy days inside Stegeman Coliseum when the University of Georgia basketball facility was used as a makeshift football field.

Even then, the building with a roof wasn’t enough to keep the team dry.

“The coliseum, as I remember it, had 176 leaks because we had 176 buckets around for whenever it rained to catch the water,” Dooley recalled during a press conference with the two Monday afternoon.

Payne, a member of Dooley’s first recruiting class in 1964, remembers a lack of productivity on days when it was raining.

“I remember Stegeman, at that time, was relatively new,” Payne said. “On rainy days we would go in there and mess around in the basketball thing just to stay out of the rain. Nothing more than staying out of the rain, really.”

Over 50 years later, the two were gathered to discuss the naming of Georgia’s new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility that now bears Payne’s name, along with his father Porter, for the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility.

“I never even remotely thought that you could practice football in an indoor arena,” Payne said. “Facilities have come a long way, and I’m glad to see the University of Georgia is staying at the top. I commend the university and the athletic department, it’s very important.”

The indoor facility was a long time in the making for UGA but finally came to fruition a little more than three years ago when the athletic board agreed to build the $30.2 million facility with the help of fundraisers. The building, which was officially dedicated in February of 2017, was completely funded by private gifts.

On Monday, Dooley recognized the importance of such a facility.

“We were always fighting to try to get ahead of the next person facility-wise, and that’s still the case,” Dooley said. “I’d say today that nobody has anything any better than Georgia.”

Billy Payne’s list of accomplishments is immense—CEO of the Atlanta Olympics, chairman of Augusta National headlining the list—and the naming rights for the athletic facility is the result of gifts totaling $10 million secured from friends of the Paynes.

“You live every day and do the best you can and make a lot of friends and a lot of good things happen in your life,” Payne said, reflecting on this point in his career. “This is certainly one of them. It’s very special because it’s a permanent association with my father that everybody will see and be aware of.”

A captain of the 1949 Georgia football team, Porter Payne lettered for four years under Wallace Butts. The Bulldogs won SEC championships in 1946 and 1948 and Porter Payne was named All-SEC alongside Georgia legend Charley Trippi.

Porter Payne was chairman of the Atlanta Touchdown Club and later a college football official, and his connection with the University of Georgia played a large role in Billy choosing to play for the Bulldogs.

“It’s a great combination of father and son,” Dooley said. “I’ve seen a lot of great father-son combinations, but never like Billy and Porter Payne.”

The university celebrated the naming of the facility Monday night with CBS announcer Jim Nantz serving as Master of Ceremonies while other guests included Hall of Fame golfer Jack Nicklaus, former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, current Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley, UGA president Jere W. Morehead, athletic director Greg McGarity, Kirby Smart and Dooley. Former Georgia golfer Bubba Watson tweeted that he, too, was at the event.

“It is a great day for the University of Georgia to honor Billy Payne and his father, Porter,” said McGarity. “We are exceptionally proud to have the Payne family name honored by placement on one of our most significant athletic facilities.”

While Payne discussed Olympics and Augusta National on Monday, he was sure to make a point to Dooley that his successes routinely circle back to his time playing for him at the University of Georgia.

“I had a little background at Georgia, a natural connection, and I wanted to play here and I wanted to play on a great team and that’s what got me here,” Payne said, looking at Dooley. “I think, coach, thanks to you, I was never disappointed.”

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